Exclusive: countering small drones most pressing priority for Latvia
But joint, coordinated action is slow.
28 MAY 2026
By
Olivia
Savage
Editor in Chief, DSEI Gateway
Detecting small UASs, such as first-person view drones, is Latvia's most pressing uncrewed systems priority, a senior military official told DSEI Gateway at the International Drone Summit in Riga, Latvia on 27 May.
Major Modris Kairišs, head of Latvia’s Autonomous Systems Competence Centre, described small drones as a “real problem”, which are difficult to detect and capable of significantly disrupting both military operations and civil society. He identified them as the greatest uncrewed threat facing Europe's eastern flank.
Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web in June 2025 – which saw at least 100 drones deployed from shipping containers deep inside Russian territory to strike infrastructure – demonstrates the disruptive efficacy of small uncrewed systems, he said, adding that "even a lone wolf can do something”.
The Cuckoo drone from Latvian company Gorgon Optronics. (DSEI Gateway)
Scaling up
Larger drones have entered Latvian and other Baltic states' airspace on several occasions this year, apparently diverted by Russian electronic jamming.
When asked about countering these systems, he said the technology already exists, but countries must scale up and reform their bureaucratic processes.
The Baltic states, he argued, are moving faster than NATO as a whole, though progress remains largely nationally focused rather than coordinated. “Currently processing in NATO and Europe is too slow... the Baltic states, Poland, [and] Finland are moving much faster.”
What Europe needs, he said, is to allocate funding, agree common standards to ensure interoperability, and move quickly to establish an effective joint counter-drone architecture.
"We need everything yesterday."
Olivia
Savage
Editor in Chief, DSEI Gateway
Olivia Savage is the Editor in Chief of Clarion Defence & Security, organisers of DSEI and other defence events. Previously, she was a Senior Defence Journalist at Janes, specialising in electronic warfare, uncrewed systems, and space.